Curtis will have to wait to become America’s Coach

By Ron Brocato
Clarion Herald

Regardless of the outcome of Friday’s District 9-5A football game between John Curtis and Edna Karr or the Patriots’ subsequent success in the state playoffs, J.T. Curtis will have to wait until 2026 to become “America’s Coach.”

A 26-7 victory over District 9-5A rival Brother Martin on Oct. 27 reportedly gave Curtis 621 victories, tying him with the late John M. McKissick of Summerville (South Carolina) High for most career victories by a U.S. high school football coach.

But, because of 30 games the River Ridge school had to forfeit over a three-year period, beginning in 2013, for using an ineligible player, the team’s reported record of 621-78-7 does not accurately reflect the games Curtis forfeited as a result, according to officials at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA).

The LHSAA is one of 51 high school athletic associations that are members of the National Federation of State High School Associations, which is the official custodian of its members’ sports records. The NFHS records show that McKissick and Curtis were the only high school head football coaches with more than 600 victories.

But the federation will not sanction a team’s or coach’s record without verification by the state association to which a school is a member, said Chris Boone, assistant director of communications and publications for the NFHS.

“We are required by protocol to have the state association verify records for our official use,” Boone said.

Eddie Bonine, executive director of the LHSAA, said he will not validate Curtis’ victory total because it does not include the forfeits.

“The LHSAA recognizes the NFHS win/loss record for Coach J.T. Curtis as 591-109-7,” Bonine said in a prepared statement. “This record reflects 30 victories forfeited due to LHSAA sanctions between 2013 and 2015.”

Competing in Division III during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the Patriots recorded a 10-3 record and back-to-back District 11-3A championships. They defeated University Lab, 32-0, for the Select Division III title in 2013, which was subsequently invalidated by the LHSAA after stripping the school of the wins.

Choosing to play up to Class 5A in 2015, Curtis was placed in District 9-5A, most commonly known as the Catholic League, and posted a 4-2 record. The Patriots were eliminated by Archbishop Rummel in the playoffs.

The LHSAA said Curtis has yet to return the championship trophy it forfeited along with the defeats.

On Jan. 30, 2017, Christian Schools, Inc. filed a suit on Curtis’ behalf, seeking damages against Bonine, assistant executive director B.J. Guzzardo (now retired) and the LHSAA for defamation and damages in the case that pertained to former offensive tackle Willie Allen living with John Curtis' assistant coach Jerry Godfrey. Allen, a 6-foot-7, 280-pound prime college prospect was ruled ineligible over his three-year enrollment as a student, and the 30 games in which he participated were declared forfeits.

The result of a hearing at the 19th Judicial Court in East Baton Rouge Parish rendered a judgment on Jan. 14, 2020, noting that the LHSAA is a private organization, not a public body, and that there was no jurisdiction to interfere with the internal proceedings of the LHSAA. The court dismissed John Curtis’ suit with prejudice for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state cause of action.

A subsequent appeal was rejected by the First Circuit Court of Appeals and returned the decision back to the trial court.

John Curtis did apply twice to the Louisiana Supreme Court for a ruling, according to the LHSAA, but the court refused both efforts.

McKissick accrued his victories and 10 state championships over a 62-year career. Curtis is in his 54-year at the helm of a school named after his father. His teams have won 27 state or select division titles over that span. His Patriots have won in every classification from 1A through 5A since 1975.

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